Last date for mandatory linking Aadhaar to avail services extended

The CJI, on October 30, had indicated that a Constitution Bench would hear the petitions against the validity of Aadhaar scheme from November last week. Our goal is, all duplicate PANs should be eliminated which are not linked to Aadhaar card.

Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing on behalf of the Narendra Modi government, however told the court that the deadline for linking Aadhaar to mobile numbers will not be extended from February 6, 2018.

It has also made Aadhaar mandatory for obtaining benefits under the Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) pension scheme - a scheme meant for senior citizens reports Zee News. "So we need to worry about them", the official said.

At present, the deadline for linking the 10-digit alphanumeric PAN (Permanent Account Number), issued by the Income Tax Department, with Aadhaar is 31 December.

For most services like savings schemes, bank accounts, PAN, insurance policies and mutual funds, the deadline was December 31.

A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan was told by the advocates representing the petitioners that "panic" was being caused among the people as the messages sent by the banks and mobile service providers were warning them the services would be deactivated if Aadhaar is not linked.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, meanwhile, said it will set up a Constitution bench next week to hear the interim pleas seeking a stay on Centre's move to link Aadhaar with various government schemes and services. Other services that would require Aadhaar include mobile phones and banking services.

Pan card: Linking of Aadhaar Card to the PAN card can help to stop illegal transaction of money through fake pan cards.